Tech world reacts to Supreme Court’s DACA decision

The U.S. Supreme Court just delivered good news for DREAMers — and the tech world is celebrating.

In a 5-4 decision announced on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court that President Donald Trump wrongly ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. 

DACA allows undocumented people who were brought into the U.S. as children to remain and legally work in the country. 

It should be noted that the Supreme Court only disagreed with how Trump tried to shut down the program. The White House can try again with the hope that other justifications will be accepted by the courts. 

Many big tech companies have strongly advocated for DACA and other immigration policies, such as the DREAM Act. And now prominent people and groups in Silicon Valley are celebrating. For many of them, it’s deeply personal.

The Apple CEO had previously been especially critical of Trump’s decision to repeal DACA.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, also tweeted out a statement of support.

The pro-immigration group FWD.us, which is led and funded by Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, also put out a statement celebrating the ruling.

The program, which was instituted under President Barack Obama in 2012, allows undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children to stay in the country without the fear of deportation as long as they don’t have any felonies or significant misdemeanors. Nearly 650,000 undocumented young people depend on the program, which requires they get a work permit renewed every two years. 

As many advocates point out, these young people had no say in the decision to come to the country when they did. They pay taxes. They contribute to the U.S. economy. Some have children who are U.S. citizens. Many were brought into the U.S. at such a young age they have no memories of the country they were born in. 

This decision comes just days after the U.S. Supreme Court delivered for the LGBTQ community, ruling that existing laws protect them from discrimination.